Arm strong lifting straps

ABSTRACT

A lifting harness to allow a user to lift heavy objects without using excessive force from the hands, but to allow the load to be lifted by the users legs and back. Two straps go across the users back and extend to near the fingertips of each arm. The user wraps the free ends of the straps around a load, such as handlebar handles, and grasps the strap ends, which applies friction, and then the load may be easily lifted.

PRIORITY/CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/567,734, filed Dec. 7, 2011, the disclosure of which is incorporatedby reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosed technology generally relates to lifting harnesses, andmore particularly to straps for manually lifting loads.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to straps for lifting and carryingelements or objects by one or two individuals and, more particularly, tostraps which transfer the load to the shoulders and back, and, morespecifically to straps held in place to the load in such a way that theload can be released by a simple release of hand grip pressure.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The technology presented is a lifting harness which is made of twoshoulder straps, a left shoulder strap and a right shoulder strap. Eachshoulder strap has a first end and a second end. The left shoulder strapis oriented so that the first end extends from near the tip of a user'sfingers on the left side, when the user is standing with his arms andhands hanging down in a relaxed position. From the position near thefingertips of the left side, the left shoulder strap goes over the topof the left shoulder across the users back and under the right arm withthe second end of the left shoulder strap approximately at the user'swaist to the right shoulder strap.

The right shoulder strap is configured as a mirror image of the leftshoulder strap, with the first end of the right shoulder strap extendingfrom near the user's fingertips over the user's right shoulder, acrossthe back and under the left arm, and attached to the left shoulder strapnear the user's waist on the left side. The shoulder straps areconnected to each other by a left connector, which is attached to thesecond end of the right shoulder strap and to the left shoulder strapfirst end, above and near the left shoulder strap first end.

A right connector is oriented in a mirror image configuration as theleft connector, attached to the second end of the left shoulder strapand to the right shoulder strap first end above and near the rightshoulder strap first end. The ends of the straps which extend beyond theconnectors are the free ends of the strap, and they are positioned to bewrappable around a load and held in position around the load by theuser's handgrip. This is possible because when the straps are wrappedaround the load, the user's handgrip applies sufficient friction tosecure the free ends of the straps to the load. This would typically bein a situation such as when the load is the handles of a wheelbarrow,and sufficient friction is applied by the user's hand to enable the userto lift a load of the wheelbarrow handles primarily using his legs andback, with very little energy being applied by the hands. Other loadsthat may be lifted by using the frictional attachment of the shoulderstrap free ends could be heavy sacks such as bags of feed, boxes orcrates, baskets, or other heavy loads, especially those with liftinghandles. A heavy sack such as a bag of feed can be lifted by overlappingthe tacky end of the left strap over the tacky end of the right strapand vise-versa and using a single hand to maintain pressure to hold theoverlap in place leaving one hand free to open and close gates anddoors. The tacky surfaces prevent the ends from sliding apart. A personor patient of limited strength such that he/she cannot raise to astanding position from a sitting position without assistance can beassisted by wrapping the two strap ends around his/her back andoverlapping the tacky ends then using hand pressure to hold the overlapin place with the assistant standing up and leaning back to lift theperson or patient to a standing position while leaving a hand free toposition a wheel chair or other chair.

A back buckle may be utilized with the straps, which connects the twostraps in a position on the user's back where the straps cross.

The frictional engagement of the free ends of the straps may beenhanced. This can be achieved by applying to the free ends of thestraps a compound which hardens into a rubbery, tacky surface or byattaching a portion of straps made of a different material for enhancedtackiness.

In this configuration of the device, the load can be quickly released bymerely releasing the user's handgrip. In the case of a wheelbarrow theuser would simply release their handgrip and the lifting strap would nolonger be frictionally attached to the handles of the wheel barrow.Alternatively, other attachment means besides the free ends of the strapcan be utilized for lifting specific items. For example, a buckler orhook could be attached to the free end of the straps, with the hookconfigured to engage a loop on the load and thus to easily lift the loadusing the legs and shoulders of the user, and not his handgrip.

Also disclosed is a method of forming a lifting harness, with a methodbeing made of the following steps. The first step is to connect a secondend of a second strap to a point near the first end of a first strap,leaving a free portion of the first strap for wrapping around a load andbeing held in place by the user's handgrip. The next step is connectinga second end of the first strap to a point near the first end of thesecond strap, leaving a free portion of the second strap for wrappingaround a load and being held in place by the user's handgrip. The nextstep is to wrap the free ends of the straps around a load handle, suchas wheelbarrow, and hold the straps in place by the user's handgrip. Thefinal step is to lift the load using handgrip only for securing the freeends of the straps, not for using the hand strength to grip and lift thehandles of the load.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the front of the present invention witha load.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the rear of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the present invention as the user is preparingto lift the load.

FIG. 4 is a view of the present invention showing the proper placementof the lifting end within the palm of the user's hand.

FIG. 5 is a view of an assembled layout of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the present invention assembled so theuser can lift a load with a single hand.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Shown in FIGS. 1-6 is a preferred embodiment of the disclosedtechnology. Shown in FIG. 1 is a lifting harness 10 made of two straps,a left shoulder strap 12 and a right shoulder strap 14, of approximatelysix feet each, made from 1½ to 2 inch width webbing constructed ofcotton, nylon, Dacron, polyethylene, or other suitable webbing material.Padding can be added to the straps where they cross over the shoulders.The lifting surfaces 16 and 30 at the end of the straps are preferablytacky, and can be an applied beaded material, tacky strips, softleather, neoprene, or natural or synthetic rubber. The tacky liftingsurface can be sewn on, glued on, impregnated into the webbing fibers,or spread on as a liquid and dried.

The right strap 14 has a first end 24 and a second 26, with the firstend having a lifting surface 16 which may be tacky, at or below waistlevel with the bare webbing extending vertically through a rightadjusting buckle 22 that connects to the left strap 12, continues upacross the front of the right shoulder where a padding can be, crossesdown the back, through a back buckle 28 between the user's shoulderblades and continues under the user's left arm to a left buckle 20 atjust above the user's left waist level. The left strap 12 is the mirrorimage of the right strap 14. It has a first end 31 and a second end 32,with a lifting surface 30 which may be tacky at or below user waistlevel with the bare webbing extending vertically through an leftadjusting buckle 20 that connects to the right strap 14, continues upacross the front of the left shoulder where a padding can be, crossesdown the back, through a back buckle 28 between the user's shoulderblades and continues under the right arm to a right buckle 22 at justabove the user's right waist level.

The buckles can be tabler buckles or slide buckles made from either ametal or plastic material. Any suitable buckle or connector commonlyused to connect flat webbing material can be used for these buckles orconnectors.

The procedure for use begins as the user approaches the load with thetacky lifting ends facing his/her sides. The user bends his/her kneesand with the elbows slightly bent, wraps the tacky lifting surfacearound the handles of the load to be lifted. With the lifting endsqueezed against the handles, the user can straighten his/her kneeslifting the load. The load will be supported by the straps where theycross over the shoulders. The arms and hands do not need to provide alifting force. The friction of the lifting ends of the straps heldaround the handles of the load will temporarily affix the harness to theload. When the load needs to be released, all that is required is forthe grip to be released from around the handles.

In the case of needing to lift and carry two ends of a load, such as afirst aid stretcher, two individuals, each with their own liftingharness, can lift and carry their respective ends of the load.

In the case of needing to carry a load with just one arm/hand, theharness can be disassembled to make individual harnesses to loop over ashoulder opposite of the load.

FIG. 2 shows the disclosed technology on the user's back, secured by theback buckle or connector 28. The harness is properly draped over theshoulders and crisscrossing the back as viewed from the rear.

Referring now to the invention in more detail, in FIG. 2, the back strap28 is shown connecting the straps where the straps cross on the user'sback.

FIG. 3 shows the lifting surfaces 16 wrapped around 180 degrees of thehandles of the load, in this case the handles of a wheelbarrow. The userloosely grips the handles to secure the tacky end of the straps to thehandle, by friction.

In more detail, still referring to the invention, in FIG. 3, the load isbeing held by the straps with the knees bent preparing to lift the loadas viewed from a front angled perspective. The straps connect to theload handles by friction, with very little pressure from the hands beingused to secure the ends 16 of the straps 12 and 14.

In FIG. 4, the user's hands are gripping under the left strap 12 so thatthe lifting surface 30 of the left strap first end 31 is against theload.

FIG. 5 shows a rear view of the harness assembled and spread out forreference, showing the left strap 12, with a first end 30 and a secondend 32, the right strap 14, with a first end 24 and second end 26, withboth straps having lifting surfaces 16 and 30. The straps are connectedto each other with a left buckle or connector 20 and a right buckle 22,and the back strap 28.

FIG. 6 shows the disclosed lifting harness configured for use as asingle strap looped around the user's shoulder and back.

While certain exemplary embodiments are shown in the Figures anddescribed in this disclosure, it is to be distinctly understood that thepresently disclosed inventive concept(s) is not limited thereto but maybe variously embodied to practice within the scope of the followingclaims. From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that variouschanges may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of thedisclosure as defined by the following claims.

I claim:
 1. A lifting harness comprising: a left shoulder strap with a first end and a second end, with said first end extending from a point near the tip of a user's fingers on a left side, when said user is standing with arms and hands handing down in a relaxed position, over the top of a left shoulder, and across the user's back, with said second end ending at a position approximately at the user's waist on the right side, attached to a right shoulder strap; a right shoulder strap with a first end and a second end, with said first end extending from a point near the tip of a user's fingers on a right side, when said user is standing with arms and hands handing down in a relaxed position, over the top of a right shoulder, and across the user's back, with said second end ending at a position approximately at the user's waist on the left side, attached to a left shoulder strap; a left connector attached to the second end of the right shoulder strap and to the left shoulder strap first end, above the left strap first end; and a right connector attached to the second end of the left shoulder strap and to the right shoulder strap first end, above the right second strap first end; wherein said first ends of said straps are configured to wrap around a load and be secured by friction around said load with minimal hand pressure applied, and to be released by release of the user's hand grip around the load.
 2. The lifting harness of claim in which said straps further comprise a high friction portion adjacent to said first ends of said straps, to increase the frictional positioning of said strap ends by the user's hand grip.
 3. The lifting harness of claim 1 in which said first strap ends are configured to wrap around a load handle, such as handles of a wheel barrow.
 4. The lifting harness of claim 2 in which said high friction portions are configured for frictional engagement and contact with each other under a load such that the worker's arms can reach around to overlap said high friction ends as in around a bag of feed.
 5. The lifting harness of claim 1 in which further comprises a back buckle which connects the shoulder straps over the user's back.
 6. The lifting harness of claim 1 in which said left and right connectors are replaced by hook and loop fasteners.
 7. The lifting harness of claim 1 in which said left and right connections are adjustable.
 8. The lifting harness of claim 1 in which one of said straps and one of said connector can be formed into a shoulder loop for lifting a load by a single strap.
 9. A method of forming a lifting harness comprising the steps of: connecting a second end of a right strap to a point near a first end of a left strap, leaving a free portion of said right strap for wrapping around a load and being held in place by a user's hand grip; connecting a second end of said left strap to a point near a second end of said right strap, leaving a free portion of said left strap for wrapping around a load and being held in place by a user's hand grip; with said straps dimensioned to extend from a user's waist on one side of his body, to over a user's shoulder, and across his back, and to said point near the first end of the opposite strap wrapping said free ends of said straps around a load handle, and holding in place by the user's hand grip from each hand. 